Curtis C. Nelson
Curtis C. Nelson
President & Chief Operating Officer
Carlson Companies
Curtis C. Nelson
Curtis C. Nelson leads the business operations of Carlson Companies as president and chief operating officer. In this role he chairs the company's operating committee and oversees the development and implementation of strategy within the company's extensive hospitality, travel and marketing operations, which reach into 140 countries worldwide.
Curtis is spearheading strategies that support the Carlson Companies' mission of "Building Better Relationships" in each individual brand and business operation. His business vision is focused on the customer, and he has united key parts of the organization around integrated customer relationship management programs that are supported by sophisticated technology and business systems.
Active in leadership roles in various business groups, industry associations and in philanthropic causes, Curtis is a member of the Travel Business Roundtable, a coalition of 70 CEOs representing all sectors of the travel and tourism industry with governmental initiatives. He is also a member of the executive committee of the World Travel and Tourism Council, a global organization of industry leaders. At the 2003 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, he was selected as a "Global Leader for Tomorrow".
Curtis received the 2002 Lifetime Achievement Award presented by the Hospitality Industry Diversity Institute in which he was cited for his commitment to advancing the cause of minorities, women, and people with disabilities.
A member of the Board of Directors of the Conrad Hilton College at the University of Houston, in 2002, Curtis endowed an on-going annual scholarship of full tuition to this respected school. He also serves on the advisory board of the School of Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Management of the University of Delaware and the advisory board of the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota. Curtis has received honorary doctorate degrees from Johnson and Wales as well as Niagara University. He is a board member of the Greater Twin Cities United Way and the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis.
Curtis earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., and a Master of Business Administration degree from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minn.
He embarked on a management career in the hotel industry, gaining broad experience while working for two industry-leading organizations, Hyatt Hotels and Four Seasons. Nelson joined Carlson Hospitality Worldwide in 1989 as a management executive with Radisson Hotels Worldwide. He served in a variety of management positions in key company operations around the United States, and in 1993, he was named executive vice president of Country Hospitality Worldwide and was named president and CEO of the business unit later that same year.
In 1995, Curtis was named executive vice president and chief operating officer of Carlson Hospitality Worldwide. He was promoted to president and CEO of Carlson Hospitality Worldwide on January 1, 1997, and named president and COO of Carlson Companies in March 2003.
Please set the title in one of the articles!
Print Friendly